That evening, a frustrated Nick starts writing his report, and he gets an idea. Granger deflects by assigning his question as the topic of a research report. He asks her about the history of words-strategically complimenting her massive dictionary at the front of the room-but Mrs. Granger off-track, but his plan backfires. On the first day of school, Nick is determined to steer Mrs. Granger, the language arts teacher with a passion for vocabulary, respect for tradition, and a radar for nonsense. He glides though elementary school with relatively little consequences, but when he enters fifth grade, he meets his match: Mrs.

He loves turning creative ideas into reality, actualizing his imagination as far as possible until he gets in trouble. Nicholas “Nick” Allen steps into fifth grade at Lincoln Elementary in Westfield, New Hampshire, with a long-standing reputation for making trouble. This guide uses the 1999 Atheneum Books for Young Readers, Reprint e-book edition. Frindle is his first and most critically acclaimed novel, boasting 48 awards and nominations such as the Christopher Award (1997) and the Phoenix Award (2016), which praises books that become more influential over time and affirms its reputation as a modern-day classic. Since 1985, Clements has published over 80 books, including Extra Credit and No Talking. Clements draws inspiration from his experience teaching fourth grade, eighth grade, and high school to develop his themes and characters.

The novel explores themes about differing adult and student perspectives, actions and their consequences, and the power of language.

The story follows a fifth-grade boy named Nick Allen who-both for fun and to exasperate his strict language arts teacher who has a special reverence for vocabulary-creates a new word for pen: “frindle.” Nick’s new word captures more attention than he expected, and soon the town and nation engage in a controversy surrounding how people ought to use vocabulary. Frindle is a 1996 middle grade novel by children’s author Andrew Clements and illustrated by Brian Selznick.

Frindle by Andrew Clements